At one time or another you’ve met someone that you instantly liked. You laughed at what they said, agreed with their opinions and were eager to see them again. And no, it wasn’t a date. It was a conversation where you just clicked with the other person. That person had charisma, and most likely, you aren’t the first person they made that type of connection with.

Great leaders often have that same penchant for connecting with another person. And because of this, they’re quite successful. But how can this observation help you and your company? Assuming your company is engaging in social media, you actually have the opportunity to be charismatic in each and every conversation. Virtually.

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Believe it or not, the holiday season is squarely upon us. So as I started to think about blog topics, I realized that inspiration can be found just about anywhere. Take the Grinch, for example. We all know the famed and fabled story by Dr. Seuss of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Well, aside from the moral lessons we can learn from the story, I suggest there are five lessons in public relations we can learn from the Grinch himself.

Lesson 1:  Get the “10,000 foot view”

I have always referred to this as the “situational analysis.” No matter the name, it is important to do your due diligence to gain a solid understanding of the situation at hand and the role public relations will play in helping your organization realize its goal. Whether that goal is to raise awareness, educate and inform, change a mindset, help diffuse a crisis,or steal Christmas, public relations is one element of an overall business strategy. Understanding that role, the goal and the various outside influences as part of the big picture will allow you to develop a public relations strategy that delivers results.

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Lessons on storytelling from Steve Sabol

Strategic communications is, in effect, storytelling. It’s the business of conveying information and the art of persuasive communication. As a strategic communications professional, each day I am challenged to help a client move the proverbial needle with one of its target audiences – tapping into education, training, experience, insight and creativity to do so effectively. To help keep on top of my game, I am always on the lookout for inspiration and thought-starters.

This week, we lost Steve Sabol – filmmaker and co-founder of NFL Films. Sabol didn’t just film the game; he helped transform the way we view it and feel about it. He used slow-motion action, close-ups, behind-the-scenes footage, video montages, on-field microphones, orchestral music and iconic narrators to help tell a story – bringing the fierce emotion, competitiveness and drama of the game into view. (continue reading…)

What makes a good conversationalist? I’ll give you a hint: it has nothing to do with how well a person can deliver a punch line or how well read they are.

A good listener makes the best conversationalist. That’s right, more important than witty banter or animated storytelling is the art of listening. Think about the last truly good conversation you had. There was an open exchange of dialogue, your points or arguments were thoroughly considered before you received a response, it felt like you were really being heard and that what you had to say mattered and it left you eager to speak with that person again.

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In this election year, we’ll be hearing a lot about the need for candidates to “stay on message.”  That’s good advice for all communications professionals and not just for candidates.

The purpose of “staying on message” is to ensure that you clearly communicate a singular message and that you repeat it often enough to make it memorable.  Often “staying on message” is associated with media training for interviews or crisis situations, but this concept also applies to all forms of corporate communications whether it is to internal or external audiences. (continue reading…)

Common misconceptions about PR – the practice and the professionals

I remember when I was studying Public Relations (PR) back in the day, or when I subsequently first started my career in PR. I’d be in some sort of social situation and the inevitable question would come up:  “What do you do for a living?”

My response, I came to discover, was usually a conversation killer: “I’m in Public Relations.” …not because I’m a dull conversationalist, mind you, but because it seemed that nobody outside the industry actually knew what Public Relations, as a profession, really was. (continue reading…)

Public Relations is a difficult thing to define – there are so many aspects and components – it’s hard to nail down one single all-encompassing definition, which makes it very difficult to define public relations success.

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Musings of a hot dog, scrapple, pork roll and sausage lover

Lean Finely Textured Beef. Pink Slime. No matter the name of this recently famous beef by-product, the mere mention of the stuff makes people’s stomachs turn. While I can’t say that there’s anything appetizing about pink slime, as a strategic communications professional – and as a Jersey girl who has enjoyed scrapple, pork roll, sausages and hot dogs throughout the course of my life – I can’t help but wonder whether pink slime just needed better PR.

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Wikipedia defines Public Relations as “the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics.”  This sounds pretty simple. But for anyone who has ever worked in public relations, you know that “simple” is not how you would describe your job.

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Some of the major stories throughout the past year – whether about politics, business, sports, entertainment or otherwise – share a similar theme:  all have been impacted significantly by the power of social media.

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